Junior Miss Saginaw Ojibwe Princess Speech

Sarah Cummins

9/21/2000 12:00:00 AM

Junior Miss Saginaw Ojibwe Princess Speech

[Editor's note: Joelle Peters was crowned Junior Miss Saginaw Ojibwe Princess on Aug. 6. One criteria used to judge the candidates was their public speaking ability. However, due to weather and time constraints, the candidates were not able to do their presentations on stage in front of the majority of the powwow participants. The following is Joelle's speech in its entirety]:

Boozhoo Anishnaabek and welcome to everyone attending the 16th Annual Little Elk's Retreat "Honoring the Eagle" Powwow.

Nee-gon-nash-na-qua nda-zhinikaaz, my English name is Joelle Peters. My Ojibwe name was given to me by my Great-Aunt Dorothy Dale. I am 14-years-old and will be attending Mt. Pleasant High School in the fall as a sophomore. Since birth, I have been a proud member of the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe.

If I am honored with the crown of Junior Miss Saginaw Ojibwe Princess, I would consider it such a great opportunity to represent the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe. I have wanted to run for this honor for a very long time, and I am thankful that I now have the chance.

I believe that sobriety and education are very important goals for today's youth. As a role model, I want to show everyone that you do not need to drink to have a good time. When I graduate from high school, I plan to attend college with the hopes of attending law school.

My Aunt Tonya Jackson taught me to dance when I was four-years-old. I dance jingle and fancy shawl. I love attending powwows and being part of a gathering where the strong Ojibwe culture continues. I also love rekindling old friendships, reuniting with family and making new friends. My favorite dance is the two step, but who is going to start making those guys who say no actually pay?

I would like to share the meaningful event when I got my first dress. It was a green jingle dress with a flip-up back. I remember that day like it was yesterday. The minute that I heard my honorary Uncle Daniel "Gomez" Mena walk through our door and say I got something for my Joelle, I knew what it was and I was the happiest girl in the whole world. I remember thinking that I was so cool because I was the only one on the whole Reservation with gold jingles and my friends were telling me how neat my dress was.

My regalia today conveys the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribal logo. There are many reasons that I chose to use the Tribal logo, but the number one and most important to me is because my grandfather Julius Peters designed it over 25 years ago. I am extremely proud of what my grandfather has accomplished, and I love him very much. With this in mind, I decided to show him how much I love him through what I love doing most — dancing.

My yolk has the same floral design that means beauty and love. My Great-Great-Grandmother Annie Peters wore it on her yolk. My barrette has the design of my Great-Great-Grandfather Simon Peters. His headdress was made of eagle and pheasant feathers.

My dress today came to me in a vision and with this being a very significant and traditional thing, I would like to share it with you. In my vision, I saw a blurry but still visible object. It was the most wonderful thing. It was our Tribal logo and with this being something that was created in my family, I knew that it was important. I understood why this vision came to me because after a while, the logo became clearer and I could easily make out that it was on a shawl. When I awoke, I told my mother that I needed to go to the fabric store. After returning from the fabric store, I placed the material that I had bought under my pillow when I went to bed. That night my dream showed me an idea of how my dress should look. While constructing my regalia, I kept in mind my vision. With help from Anita Heard, my family and I have this dress today.

Early yesterday, I received two eagle feathers from the Quintero family. Jerry Pigeon Sr. performed the presentation. The whole idea of getting them made me feel great. I want to thank everyone who was there.

I also want to thank my family and friends who helped me with my dress and told me that I could do it. Miigwetch.